


With You

by Rangerskirt



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Canon Typical Violence, Episode - Burning The Candle, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Lullabies, Qrow sings the girls a lullaby, Summer sings Qrow a lullaby, canon character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-31 16:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12136458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangerskirt/pseuds/Rangerskirt
Summary: Ch1: After saving the girls from Grimm that night in the woods Qrow settles the girls down into bed with a lullaby he was sung once by someone very special to all of them.Ch2: Qrow dreams about his time in school with team STRQ and then of witnessing Summer's death, both dreams involve a familiar lullaby.(aka my excuse fic for Qrow singing the girls a lullaby)(and to write about Summer)





	1. QRYT

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics/Song belong respectively to Casey Lee Williams, Jeff Williams, Rooster Teeth, etc.  
> http://youtubeonrepeat.com/watch/?v=POoeN5v2U6Y - my inspiration that made me want to write a fic about Qrow singing the girls a lullaby.

The sun was bright and beaming through the windows of the quiet Xiao Long-Rose household.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Little Yang had watched her loving father play, chase and dote on her younger sister for the last hour and a half attempting to tire out the ever-energetic toddler. She didn't mind being left out, as of late the golden-haired child hadn't felt much like playing, not since their mother had failed to come home several weeks ago. Being almost two and a half years older than Ruby, Yang understood their fathers' words a lot better than the red-cloaked babe.

_With tears being held in his own eyes Taiyang had pulled both of his girls into a tight hug and said strongly, "Your mother is gone."_

The words had been a big blow to Yang's heart, but she had seen the confusion and oblivious look in Ruby's silver eyes when she had not understood that their loving mother was dead. Killed by one of those Grimm monsters that she had so valiantly fought over the years between baking them cookies and singing them bedtime lullabies. She and she alone had cried hard with her father that day, Taiyang had lovingly kissed her forehead and told her to give it time to let the death sink in for Ruby.

Being almost three weeks later the death itself still hadn't hit the youngest girl, but she seemed to be realizing that their mother wasn't coming home. Almost as if thinking that Summer was off on some extremely long job that she might not be returning from, after all this wouldn't be the first time Summer had been away for weeks helping villages and places with Grimm overruns.

Yang was sure that one day, and probably one soon, the pain was going to hit Ruby's small and sweet heart like a mallet to a pane of glass when her young mind put two and two together. As the big sister, Yang took it upon herself to do the one that could help soften such a blow, she was going to find them a mother to look after them. Her father had always refused her questions about her own biological mother, Raven was her name, but seeing how loving Summer had been then surely all mothers were like that.

Early in the morning three days ago Yang had been playing hide and seek with Ruby to appease the young girl and eventually been snooping through her father's closet thinking Ruby might have hidden inside. 

_Rummaging through the mess of a closet suddenly a photo slipped out of the pocket of a hanging pair of pants. Picking it up Yang's purple eyes widened to an incredible width, it was a picture of Taiyang, baby Yang and who the young girl could only assume was her mother. They were smiling and standing in front of a house, with a visible address._

She hadn't asked her father about it, every time she brought up the subject of Raven the man made sure to put a stop to it quickly. So instead she waited for a chance, and today she was going to get one when their father went out. He had sat with them during breakfast and told them he had to go into the market to pick up extra food since their Uncle Qrow was coming to visit sometime soon.

Hearing the familiar name had put both girls into a good mood and Yang had quickly agreed to watch over Ruby for a few short hours while their father would be out. Now, getting a ruffle of the hair and kiss to the forehead, Ruby received a similar one, as Taiyang headed out with a quick 'love you both' and the front door clicked shut tightly.

 Walking over to the couch Yang gentle rustled Ruby's arm as the toddler was trying to take a nap, all curled up in her red cloak. "Mn'sleepin..." the small voice muttered, Yang sighed out and pulled away. She wasn't going to let that stop her, so with a little difficulty, Yang had gotten Ruby settled and napping inside of their squeaky red wagon with just a thin blanket and red cloak to keep her warm.

The older sister had pulled on a jacket and tucked her long golden locks into messy pigtails, then set out walking down the narrow pathway away from home. Every step of hers crunched in the white and fresh snow, the wagon was making similar noises that she could faintly hear over the squeaking of the rusty back wheels.

Hours passed, Ruby had only woken up once and complained about how cold it was and mentioned that she would have liked to go home, only to get a small snap from her big sister to go back to sleep. Huddling down into the blanket and cloak Ruby had done just that, falling into a lighter and chillier sleep than before but all of her trust sitting on Yang's shoulders without even questioning where they were going.

Little Yang now felt exhausted, there had been some paths that had been more filled with forest than others and she had tripped or had a tough time pulling the wagon through. Resulting in several bruises lining her knees and lower legs and even a few scrapes on her old cheeks and shivering hands.

So when her lilac eyes glanced at the house she had been searching for, her heart fell. It was abandoned, run down, empty and looked colder than being covered entirely in snow and letting the wind whip against your face. "No..." her voice shook and she could feel the burning at the back of her throat that happened whenever she was about to start crying. "No no...no!" Letting the handle of the wagon drop to the ground Yang stepped forward to the building. "You were supposed to be here, you were supposed to be here _for us_!"

The double doors to the former home had long since fallen off their hinges and dangled, squeaking ominously as the wind jiggled them back and forth. Yang slowly sunk down, letting her aching legs meet the snowy ground as the slow tears started to run hotly down her face. "I'm sorry Ruby, I-I thought..." Hearing a small groan from her sister, that had been dozing in and out but woken up feeling the wagon stop, and now was getting out of the wagon.

A blanket was pulled over both of their shoulders as Ruby knelt down next to her yellow-haired sister in a sleepy fashion, "Yang...?" Seemingly noticing the very notable tears put a concerned look in Ruby's eyes. Feeling her eyes and nose leaking Yang sobbed out, "I-I'm sorry Rub-" but jumped hearing a shuffling and a sudden howling from within the abandoned house. The sisters stared at the dark doorway as it lit up with several pairs of blood red eyes and froze with fear.

"Gr-Grimm..." Yang said in a hushed tone and stood up abruptly, pulling the younger girl up with her. "In the wagon, now!" The beasts moved much too quickly for the small children, wolf-like Grimm barged out from the building with intent to kill. With only a split second of judgment, Yang grabbed Ruby and held her close but away from the monsters, attempting to shield her little sister from any harm that might come to them.

She waited and waited for the pain to claw into her back, for teeth to wrap around her neck, but none of it ever came. The sound of metal cutting deep into flesh, and then near complete silence as someone behind them panted, a human voice. " 'ncle Qrow.." Ruby's voice broke the quiet atmosphere in a shaken and fearful tone, she had been watching over Yang's shoulders the whole time and unable to look away as their Uncle had quite literally swooped in from above and saved them.

The pure shock had kept Ruby quiet for the instance before the attack, but now the young toddler started to cry and break down loudly as everything caught up with her. She could be blissfully unaware of much, but death-red-eyes staring you down like a midday snack was hard to miss.

"Girls." their Uncle's familiar and deep voice said as he came closer, he leaned down to scoop each of them up with a single arm before he started walking along the path with their wagons old tread marks. "Are either of you hurt? Ruby, shhh it's alright now no need to cry." Receiving no answer from the youngest that clung to him, Yang was holding tightly onto his shirt now but she shook her head. " 'M f-fine..."

Guilt swept through her small chest and stomach, it felt like an anchor sinking into the deep ocean. She knew now that it had been a mistake to come out here, they would have died if their Uncle hadn't been happening by.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

By the time Qrow had made it back to the house the youngest had calmed down but both girls still clung to his clothes out of a mixture of terror and being cold. Walking inside he noticed that every single light was turned on, Taiyang had probably left them on in hopes that the girls would see the light and be able to make it home. Stepping into the kitchen he spotted the note on the fridge that read - _Girls if you come home, stay home please! I'll be home soon._ \- it was low on the fridge where one of the girls could have plucked off.

Unsure of when Taiyang had gone out searching for the girls Qrow was just thankful he had been flying overhead when he had, or more tragedy would have struck this family in a way that he was sure neither he nor Tai could recover from. "So um...you girls want some hot chocolate?" his gravely voice asked, only receiving two head shakes as a negative. "Right, I'm sure you're both tired and cold, let's get you to bed."

He moved to the older girls room first, tucking her in warmly to the bed sheets and brushing a hand through her ever-golden hair. "Try to get some rest firecracker, I'll be on the couch if you need anything." The man sat there on the edge of Yang's bed for a long minute as if giving her time to think if she needed to ask for anything or say anything but he just watched her curl up silently and close her eyes tightly. Stubborn as always.

Making slow steps as he walked away from the bed, giving the small blond girl another chance to call his name, Qrow smiled softly and shook his head as he eased the door closed behind him. Leaving it open just a crack so some comforting light from the hallway could loom inside. The dark-haired man walked into the next room over and attempted to tuck Ruby in similarly to her sister, only to be fought against it.

Qrow had managed to get her down into the covers but one of her small hands still had his arm trapped in a grip he could easily break, but didn't have the heart to. "Don't go." came her small voice, silver eyes shimmered in the half-darkness of the room which was only light enough to see in because of the hallway being lit brightly. "Don't worry, I'll be out on the couch if you need me. I'll be awake and protecting the house, none of those beasts are going to get past my eye." with a confident smile and a wink it was enough to satisfy Ruby who finally let him go. He mimicked the trick with the door, leaving it open just enough for some light to shine in, before heading out to the couch and kicking off his shoes to the side.

Mostly true to his word the girls' beloved Uncle had made every intention of staying awake, especially since he wanted to be able to assure Taiyang that the girls were safe and unharmed as soon as he arrived home. Only about twenty minutes passed, his eyes had been growing heavy but snapped open and he jumped to his feet at the ready hearing his youngest niece scream.

Rushing to her room it was as he had expected, a nightmare, but he treated it as seriously as he would fighting a Grimm. Crawling onto the emptier side of her bed Qrow sat up with his back to the wall and pulled Ruby into his lap to hug her warmly and run a hand up and down her back. "Just a dream Rubes, I'm here to look after you." Watching her shoulders lessen but still shaking sent a spike of pain through his own heart.

She had shuffled closer to him, a calmer demeanor soon washing over her features but she was still stiff as a tree in his lap. In attempts to soothe her back into a sweeter dreamland, he asked, "Want me to tell you a story to help you sleep?" The smallest of frowns overtook her expression and Ruby shook her head. "Mn ok, how abouuuut..." glancing around the toddler's room for inspiration Qrow let the words out of his mouth before realizing what he was actually saying, "...a lullaby?"

Looking up at him with expecting eyes Ruby nodded, a lump started growing in Qrow's throat and he tried to swallow around it. "I mean if you want, I'm not good at singing and I only know one song but-" cutting himself off the man was happy with the dim light or the young girl may have noticed her uncle's face growing pink with embarrassment.

"Ok ok, but don't laugh if I sound ridiculous!" Clearing his throat he sang in a very soft voice, trying to remember the words of the song he had been sung only once himself.

__

_"Hush your cries, close your eyes,_  
_Stay with me_  
_Let's just dream_  
_Quietly_  
_Of what might be_

_Calm your fear_  
_I'll be near_  
_To you I'll cling_  
_Rest my friend_  
_Time can mend_  
_Many things_

_I don't know the answers -"_

The gentle song was cut off by the ever quiet sound of Ruby's bedroom door opening further and letting more hallway light flood inside. Little Yang stood there, looking in curiously and Qrow had to wonder if she had been awake already or if the combination of Ruby's scream and his singing had woken her up next door. Either way, he held out his free arm in a gesture for his oldest niece to join them on the bed.

Rushing inside with a burst of speed Yang jumped onto the bed and hugged up to the man's free side and pulled his arm around her like a safety blanket. Holding his hand with both of her much smaller ones little Yang played with one of the rings on hand before closing her eyes and muttering, "Keep singing please."

"If you insist." Qrow leaned his head back a tad and cleared his throat before continuing.

_"I don't know the answers_

_Tomorrow's still unknown_  
_But I can make this promise_  
_You won't be alone_

_I don't know_  
_Where we should go_  
_Just feeling farther from our goal_  
_I don't know_  
_What path we will be shown_  
_But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home_

_There's a quiet place_  
_In my embrace_  
_A haven of safety where_  
_I'll dry your tears_  
_Shelter here_  
_In my care_

_But even when we stumble_  
_And someday when we fall_  
_What I will remember_  
_That I had you through it all_

_I don't know_  
_Where we should go_  
_Just feeling farther from our goal_  
_I don't know_  
_What path we will be shown_  
_But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home"_

Looking down at his peacefully snoozing nieces Qrow thought that he probably could have stopped early in the song but a want of his own had compelled him to continue and finish the piece. There was no way he had done justice to the song in the girls' minds, not when he was sure Summer could sing the song so much more beautifully than he ever could. For the moment he was content to see the girls looking happy, warm and ultimately safe above all else. "I love you both, so much." 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Taiyang Xiao Long came home late after searching for hours upon hours for his daughters in every place he could think of, including just trudging around in the forest in hopes of stumbling upon them randomly. He knew there was always the possibility that they had returned earlier to the house but going back to check every hour would have taken away too much time from searching outside.

Walking inside the first thing he noticed were the adult pair of shoes laying scattered in his living room near the couch and the oh so familiar sword-scythe propped up against the wall. "Qrow...Qrow?" he called out and looked around for the man. Heading over to the girls' rooms he found Yang's empty first, but the sight inside of Ruby's put his heart at an instant ease.

The three of them were snuggled up on top of Ruby's bed that was much too small for a man of Qrow's size, let alone an additional two young girls who were practically on top of him. Though Tai and Qrow had a few issues between them, he knew that the man wished the girls no ill will and would protect them with his own life if necessary and for that, he was grateful for.

Walking away to retrieve a blanket from the closet, Tai returned to the room to throw it over the three and then let the three sleep without interruptions. Stopping himself halfway through the living room Tai stared at a picture of the four of them, Summer, Ruby, Yang, and himself, that sat on the table. Smiling he slowly lifted a hand to cover part of his face, two sudden tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Thank goodness they're both ok..."


	2. STRQ

The moon shone brightly through the windows of the Xiao Long-Rose household, specifically through the bedroom of their youngest that currently had one adult and two young girls curled onto a small bed and sleeping.

The girls were sleeping well enough that they would likely stay that way until morning light was high in the sky, their uncle would probably not be so lucky. Qrow had trouble sleeping through the night since he could remember, and that had only grown worse when his sister Raven had split off from their group after school leaving team STRQ without their letter R. Coincidentally that had been about the time the man had started his awful habit of drinking almost constantly throughout the day.

As Qrow slept his dreams slowly crept back to the days when he and his friends were more or less happier and very much a team.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

So far it had been a normal day for Qrow, the team was in their last year at Beacon and pretty excited to graduate even if the year had just started. Though the thought of graduating also left a sinking feeling inside of his stomach, things between his team had been feeling tenser lately, Raven had been briefly mentioning her thoughts which could be summed up as 'survival of the fittest'. She never pushed it but whenever it was brought up the usual laughter and smiles of team STRQ would grow quieter, not wishing to upset or argue with a valued member of their little family.

Though they were as close as brothers, this also meant that Qrow and Taiyang would fight just as much as being siblings in a way that he would never have fought with Raven. Not because she was a girl, but simply because she was much too reserved to sprout out into a spontaneous verbal or physical fight, his twin just wasn't the type. The young man was close to her as well, of course, they were twins so there was a strange unmentionable bond there that had always lingered and always would, but as the last year or two Raven had become much more comfortable in herself and needed his presence less and less. A presence in which Qrow still felt a longing for.

Like on most days off, after a mixture of studying and practice, they would all head back to the dorm room together in peaceful quiet or mild chit-chat. Tai had been making googly eyes at Raven since Day 1 here at Beacon, and while Qrow had at first despised it, he now was less disgusted knowing that Tai was a very good person and if his sister had to end up with anyone Qrow would _hope_ it'd be with someone like Tai.

As per usual, halfway back to their room Raven suddenly decided she still had energy and sighed, "I think I'm going to hit the library and brush up on a few things for that test coming up." Turning she started heading down a different path, Tai cleared his throat and said, "Ah um, I'm coming too I can always use extra study sessions!" and chased after her like a lost puppy dog. Now to most people, it would seem as if Taiyang was wasting his time pining after the beautiful and black haired girl who was always so stoic, but as her twin Qrow knew perfectly well she liked the cute puppy act. Or she would have long since put a stop to any romantic thoughts in the blond man's head.

It was just the two of them then and as their footsteps fell into stride Qrow let out an expert and soft whistle that resembled that of a bird, Summer started to smile and pursed her lips to whistle back. It came out as just air and a sputtering noise with absolutely no whistle to it, now Qrow was the one smirking and starting to laugh. "Summer just face it, you can't whistle!" Soon enough they were both giggling together about something so mundane and ridiculous he could hardly believe it.

"I'll get the hang of it eventually, you'll see!" her determined tone was showing through. The taller of the two reached and tugged off the white hood so that it fell to her back so that he could ruffle her black and red hair in a messy fashion. Summer had always been the shortest of their group and Qrow absolutely loved that about her, she was their leader, a fierce fighter, an amazing friend, and unbelievably, adorably, short.

Back in the dorm Summer had immediately climbed onto her bed and pulled out a lengthy book she had been working through for a few days now whenever she had peace and quiet. Seeing the content look overcome her features Qrow didn't have the urge to mess with her, instead, he laid out on his bed with his shoes still on and decided to get a few extra winks at this earlier hour. Falling asleep had never been an issue and soon enough it was a dream within a dream.

He had woken up in his dorm room from a nightmare, one he couldn't remember what it was about but had vividly remembered how Summer had shaken him awake with a concerned voice. "Qrow...Qrow wake up, hey you're having a bad dream!" When he had shot up in her arms she had immediately pulled him into a hug and smiled, letting his nose rest on her shoulder warmly. "Sorry if I was rough waking you up, you were shaking and I got worried..."

Whatever had been in that nightmare had left the usually strong and mighty man left shaking and terrified, almost unable to form words entirely and very happy that neither Tai or his sister had been there to witness his weakness. If anyone was going to understand it would have been Summer and waking up to her voice had been comforting.

When his body and mind had calmed mostly Qrow could feel Summer starting to pull away and ease him back to lay back onto his bed. Before she could make a getaway he quickly nabbed the end of her white cloak that she rarely took off, lucky for him that she hadn't changed into pajamas yet or she would have been back to her bed already. "W-Wait." he muttered and then cleared his throat and looked away ashamed of his sudden stutter, "I mean, nevermind...thanks for waking me up."

She always seemed to be able to read him perfectly and came back, taking her place sitting on the edge of his bed and reaching a petite hand to run through his dark hair once. "That bad huh? I'd lay down with you but...I have a feeling if Tai and Raven come back they'd tease us non-stop about that. Hm, you're too old for fairy tales I'd say, what about a song though?"

Clearing his throat again Qrow felt his cheeks getting a tint of pink and very warm, "I'm too old for a story but you want to sing me a lullaby?" With a pout of the cheeks that quickly turned into her usual sweet smile Summer nodded, "Don't knock it until you hear it ok? You act tough but you're a big softy in here-" she poked his chest with a finger over where his heart would be. "Alright, lay it on me then." the tension from the dream still had his body in an almost locked state, moving too much was out of the question right now.

_"Hush your cries, close your eyes,_  
_Stay with me_  
_Let's just dream_  
_Quietly_  
_Of what might be_

_Calm your fear_  
_I'll be near_  
_To_ you _I'll cling_  
_Rest my friend_  
_Time can mend_  
_Many things_

_I don't know the answers_  
_Tomorrow's still unknown_  
_But I can make this promise_  
_You won't be alone_

_I don't know_  
_Where we should go_  
_Just feeling farther from our goal_  
_I don't know_  
_What path we will be shown_  
_But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home_

_There's a quiet place_  
_In my embrace_  
_A haven of safety where_  
_I'll dry your tears_  
_Shelter here_  
_In my care_

_But even when we stumble_  
_And someday when we fall_  
_What I will remember_  
_That I had you through it all_

_I don't know_  
_Where we should go_  
_Just feeling farther from our goal_  
_I don't know_  
_What path we will be shown_  
_But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home"_

The song had long since relaxed Qrow's shoulders and taken his mind away from his nightmare, instead, he was left staring at Summer's face and lips with his blood red eyes in awe. Her voice was as beautiful as her fighting to him and now he felt speechless for a different reason. "That was...something else. I definitely feel better after that."

"Good, I hope you sleep better this time...and please at least take your shoes off if you're going to sleep."

The dream couldn't stay beautiful and warm though and it soon melted away like rose petals into something else.

~.~.~.~.~

He was walking along on a forest path, deciding to walk for a bit instead of fly since he felt at ease. Coming to a village Qrow had meant to path through and use to get some food and rest a sickening feeling overcame his stomach, there was smoke in the distance and within seconds he was in the air and rushing towards what felt like disaster in his mind.

Disaster wasn't too far off, the poor little village was being assaulted by Grimm left and right and Qrow dove down to help as many people as he could. The battle was long, painful and bloody, he had managed to kill many Grimm and get quite a few trapped villagers out to run away but now he was running low on steam. There was only so much one Hunter could do for an overrun village and Qrow was feeling at his limit, he refused to fly away just because of that.

He continued to fight until his body was so exhausted he fell to his knees surrounded by several huge Grimm. Seeing a strike coming for him that would be fatal Qrow slammed his eyes shut, only for the blow to never hit home when there was the sound of something colliding with metal. Opening his red eyes Qrow saw what looked like an angel, dressed in a white cloak and blocking the attack before smiling at him, blood dripped from her busted lip.

From what he could assume Summer had been on patrol in the area and been fighting her way through Grimm to get here, exhausting herself much as Qrow had been and arriving only in time to save him this once. Her feet wobbled a bit uneasily but she turned and let out a flurry of attacks that killed several of the Grimm and made the smaller ones back off for the moment.

Pushing himself to his feet Qrow and Summer exchanged a nod of understanding before fighting off in their own directions to reconvene later. With new vigor, the scythe-wielder fought ruthlessly although with every nerve in his body burning with want to stop and rest as he continued. It felt like hours later when Qrow dragged his feet and his scythe, now in sword form, along towards the middle of the village which was now completely abandoned. Other than one small figure, covered in a torn and bloodied white cloak, that was slumped against a fence.

For a split moment, he forgot every pain wearing through his body and once again was able to manage to break into a run so that he could collapse next to Summer and abandon his scythe to the side. "No...no no  _fuck,_ Summer talk to me!" Her figure wasn't moving, there was a faint rising and falling as her shallow breathes continued. Qrow moved closer and touched her cheek to lift her face so he could study it, letting the white hood fall back to her shoulders.

"Summer!" he called in desperation and touched a hand to her waist striving to shake her to hopefully rouse her from being passed out. Gasping Qrow didn't get that far, just as his hand had clamped down on Summer's side he felt the pure amount of blood already soaked through the girls' clothes that was only less noticeable because of Qrow's panic and the combination of black clothing. "Please wake up! Wh-What am I supposed to tell Tai if you don't wake up, or...or Ruby, and Yang!" Summer Rose may have been the only person alive to hear Qrow beg so earnestly if she could even comprehend what he was saying completely.

A congested cough came from her throat before her eyelids opened revealing tired, dull and very silver eyes. "Qrow..." even after a battle like that and so much blood loss Summer pulled off a sweet if not half-baked smile through her pain, but it broke too soon for either of their likings. "I'm sorry, I think we both know I can't come back from this much blood loss."

Part of the man really just wanted to scoop the smaller girl into his arms and rush her to the nearest village in search for help even if she wouldn't make it, then at least he could have told Tai that he had tried until the end to save her. After looking Summer in the eyes he threw that thought out the window, perhaps the least he could do would be just to make her as comfortable as possible until she passed...

Lifting her into his lap Qrow leaned back against the fence and held Summer close, "H-Hush your cries...close your e-eyes.." blinking tears away fiercely from his eyes the man attempted to half sing and half stutter out the lyrics to the lullaby she'd sung to him once before. Only a few lines in the tiny smile returned to Summer's face and using what little energy she had the girl poked him in the chest over his heart, "Big softy...I always loved that about you Qrow.."

Squeezing her shoulder a bit too tightly he shook his head, "Yours is much bigger than mine-Summer...?" Her eyes had slowly drifted shut with that calm expression over her pale face, if it weren't for the wounds and blood then one could have assumed she were only asleep. The tears Qrow had been holding in his eyes finally were spilling over hotly onto his cheeks, he pressed a kiss to her sweat dripped forehead and let out a sob he would only let her see. He would never let someone else see this side of him.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Sitting up abruptly with a gasp Qrow looked down to find himself in his youngest nieces room and on her bed where he remembered falling asleep, but neither niece were there to be found. Shaking his head to force the trembles out of his body the man fished into his pocket and pulled out his flask, tipping his head back and letting the burning liquor run down his throat. Almost instantly the shakes seemed to leave him and Qrow was able to get to his feet and peek out of the open door and into the hallway.

It was bright morning by now so he headed straight to the kitchen, the sight there was better medicine than any alcohol he'd ever tasted. Taiyang was standing by the stove and cooking a yummy smelling breakfast, Ruby and Yang were sitting at the kitchen table and fussing about ready to eat and looking starved.

Silver eyes spotted him first and his rested niece squealed, "Uncle Qrow, sit with us!" Yang sprouted her own grin and gestured to the extra plate set out presumably for him, "Yeah, Daddy is making pancakes!"


End file.
